Cricket-England v India - third test scoreboard

(Updates at the close)

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Scoreboard at the close on the second day

of the third test between England and India at Edgbaston in

Birmingham on Thursday.

India first innings 224 (MS Dhoni 77; S. Broad 4-53, T.

Bresnan 4-62)

England first innings (overnight 84-0)

A. Strauss b Mishra 87

A. Cook not out 182

I. Bell b Kumar 34

K. Pietersen lbw b Kumar 63

E. Morgan not out 44

Extras (lb-26, b-7, nb-12, w-1) 46

Total (three wickets, 115 overs) 456

Fall of wickets: 1-186 2-252 3-374

To bat: R. Bopara, M. Prior, T. Bresnan, S. Broad, G. Swann,

J. Anderson.

Bowling (to date): Praveen Kumar 32-12-75-2, Sreesanth

22-4-103-0(4nb), Ishant Sharma 25-6-112-0 (1w), Mishra

26-2-100-1 (8nb), Raina 9-0-30-0, Tendulkar 1-0-3-0

Bangalore seek to settle score

It’s heartening to see reigning champions Deccan Chargers finally getting their bearings right. And now they look a potent force, having clocked two wins on the trot. As Gilchrist and Co had comprehensively beaten Royal Challengers in their own den in the last encounter, they would go into this match with a psychological edge at their surrogate home ground, Nagpur.

Deccan Chargers

Interestingly, Tirumalasetti Suman’s batting form has coincided with the team’s change in fortune. Batting at no. 3, he carved out two half-centuries that were in the winning cause. Against an opposition like Bangalore, Suman’s role will again be crucial.

Captain Gilchrist would love to take a leaf out of his junior’s book and hit the straps against a formidable side like Royal Challengers. However, the intriguing form of Rohit Sharma is another riddle the team needs to fix.

In a crucial match where a win could potentially decide the team’s entry to semis, the captain would do well to bring back either Herschelle Gibbs or VVS Laxman even though they haven’t been in good nick. As they say, class is permanent.

Ryan Harris has been hitting the deck nicely and picking up wickets as well and that should come handy against Bangalore’s reputed batting line-up. The duo of Harris and RP Singh will have to keep pecking at the top order to restrict the opposition to run away with the match. Pragyan Ojha, who is the leading wicket taker, has been doing a splendid job during the middle overs and he should pose a challenge to Bangalore batsmen.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Deccans must be rankling in the collective consciousness of the team. It can either become a mental block or spur the team to settle the score. With a team as resourceful as Bangalore, the latter is more likely.

However, one wonders why change an opening combination of Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey that has done well in the past.

The middle order has too much of class and substance to fail too often. However, it would be important not to hit the panic button if they lose early wickets.

The bowling quartet have done exceedingly well with captain Kumble leading from the front. Dale Steyn and Vinay Kumar have often wrecked batting line with their speed and guile and would be looking forward to carry on their good job.

Teams (Probable Eleven):

Deccan Chargers: Monish Mishra/VVS Laxman, Adam Gilchrist (capt-wk), T Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Dwayne Smith/Herschelle Gibbs, B Sumanth, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ryan Harris, Harmeet Singh

Royal Challengers Bangalore: S Sriram, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa (wk), Ross Taylor, Cameron White, Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble (capt), Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn

Deccan vs Mumbai: whose home is it anyway?

Mumbai: This is a cruel joke on the Chargers. They take on Mumbai Indians in what is supposedly their home game at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Taking on Sachin Tendulkar is a task in itself. Taking on the Master Blaster at home is like attacking Troy. You need more than a trick to breach his fortress.

And they will surely need some innovative captaincy in the game against Mumbai, who are looking all set to remain atop the points table. The Indians this year are a well-oiled unit who have been led from the front by Tendulkar, himself in stupendous form. In the previous two games Tendulkar has carried his bat through and that is indication enough of what the Chargers' bowlers should expect.

The Chargers have won three of their five games, but they have been a case of blow hot and blow cold. They lost their opening game against Kolkata and then bounced back to win three in a row before Shane Warne got the better of them on Friday.

It was supposed to be an easy game for the Chargers but they crumbled under some tight bowling and will have to be careful not to repeat their errors against a top bowling outfit. Mumbai's bowlers have been on target right through with Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh all among the wickets. The Chargers' running between the wickets has also been dicey and the calling for runs must improve.

Mumbai surely look to be in the driver's seat. The lineup has fired in unision and the 'home' crowd will hope for an encore. The threat of Tendulkar taking the game away from the Chargers in the first 10 overs remains the biggest threat.

The Indians surely have more than an edge in this contest. They have the momentum going their way and they have a certain Sachin Tendulkar who'll show them just who is the boss in Mumbai.